Ronsard, a poet in the service of the Duke of Orleans, was one of the masters of a period which saw a ground swell of erotic literature. Ronsard, one of the leaders of the Pleiade, the most important literary movement of the Renaissance, penned this:
"I salute you, Oh, vermilion cleft
Whose lively walls glisten.
I salute you, Oh, most blessed sluice
Which gushes contentment....
Oh, little hole, adorable hole, velvety hole,
Soft, plush, downy hole.
You tame even the most rebellious...."
In France, these verses were often recited at court by women savoring the new-found liberty of the era.
